In the Meantime
by MiniPlane
Summary: Darcy was confused. This was Thor's brother. Thor's younger sort-of-but-not-really brother. The guy who had sent some sort of crazy magic robot thing to destroy them in New Mexico. And who more recently had tried to enslave humanity by letting an alien army loose on the city of New York... And he was in her bathroom.
1. Chapter 1

**1**

_This_ was nice. Jane had given Darcy the afternoon off, after somehow convincing her to lug around what felt like a couple tons of equipment. Of course, by offering her the afternoon off, what Jane meant was that she didn't trust Darcy to not break anything while attempting to set up the lab. Needless to say, all the heavy lifting left her kind of sore. So when she got back to her apartment, Darcy stripped off her clothes and started running a bath.

She wasn't usually a tea sort of person, preferring the quicker jolt of caffeine provided by coffee, but she kept a box of herbal tea around for those times she just needed to relax and unwind. Thinking about it, she was probably just a little too dependent on her morning (and mid-morning, and afternoon) cup of coffee. But she didn't really care. That stuff was good. As she waited for the tub to fill she boiled some water, grabbed one of her many mismatched mugs, and prepared her tea. She made sure to add a gratuitous helping of honey before she left the kitchenette.

Darcy knew how to enjoy a bath. She'd worked it down to a science. She knew exactly how far to turn the temperature dial so the water was hot and the relief instant, but not so hot that it burned. Through an embarrassing process of trial and error she knew exactly how full it needed to be so it wouldn't overflow when she got in, and exactly how long it took the water to reach that level. Just the right amount of time to make tea.

So when she stepped in and sat down everything was perfect. She took a sip of her tea before lying back. _This_ was sweet. She gently closed her eyes and –

"Hello, Ms. Lewis."

Darcy yelped in surprise, and trying to hoist herself up slipped down just a little, flailing about ungracefully before finally managing to get to her feet. She noticed she had knocked her tea over, that she had splashed enough water onto the floor to require actually cleaning it up, that there was a man standing in the middle of her bathroom, that this man was miraculously dry, and finally, that he was staring at her quite intently while she was completely naked. Without a second thought she pulled the shower curtain in front of herself, taking a moment to try and collect her thoughts. She really wished she had her taser.

Unable to make any sense of things with what little information she had, Darcy dared to poke her head out from behind the curtain. The man was smartly dressed, wearing a black three-piece suit and a scarf patterned with swirls of green and a sort of off-white. He was pale, his jet-black hair only emphasizing it. The slicked back style offered an excellent view of his face, which was familiar in all too terrifying a way. His eyes were exceptionally green, and in them she detected a hint of smugness.

"Loki!"

The way she blurted it out was almost a question, but mostly a startled recognition of who exactly this man was. She was scared. Darcy hadn't been in the city during the battle, but she knew what had happened. This was Thor's brother. Thor's younger sort-of-but-not-really brother. The guy who had sent some sort of crazy magic robot thing to destroy them in New Mexico. The guy who more recently had tried to enslave humanity by letting an alien army loose on the city of New York.

And he was in her bathroom.

He raised an eyebrow before repeating his original greeting, "Hello, Ms. Lewis."

There were altogether too many questions racing through her head at that moment for her to respond in any sort of comprehensible manner. "What— How did— Where's— Why the _fuck_ are you in my bathroom?"

It occurred to her that Loki was probably not someone you should yell at. It occurred to her that she was terrified. It also occurred to her that she was far too confused for either of those things to matter. And when she was this confused, she fell back on anger. It was something of a character flaw, she supposed.

"I was bored," he deadpanned.

"And do you just make a habit of creeping on girls when you get bored?" She paused, "Wait, you're supposed to be on Asgard." The fear started to replace the anger, "You were serving out your punishment, right? For the whole trying to take over the world thing?"

"Oh, I am still on Asgard." His features betrayed no emotion.

Now even more confused, she became angry again. "Then what is _this_?" She pointed at the figure which appeared to be Loki.

"I am hardly a 'what,' Ms. Lewis." He was silent for a moment, obviously reveling in her complete and utter bewilderment. "And simply because I am on Asgard does not mean I cannot also be here."

This was just getting weirder. "Look, I may not be all science-y like Jane, but that's like basic physics or something. You can't be in two places at once. It's not possible. You are either here, or there, or potentially somewhere else for all I seem to know."

He seemed almost amused. "Why would you suppose I am constrained by the laws of your trivial Midgardian science?"

"It's not just Mid—" she decided not to even try to pronounce it, "Whatever you said. It's universal! You can't just do things that aren't possible! That's why they're called impossible!"

"And yet," he gestured to himself.

Darcy suddenly remembered that she didn't particularly care _how_ he was there, in her bathroom, but that he was there _at all_. She also remembered she was angry.

"Get the hell out of my bathroom!"

He smiled obligingly, "Of course, Ms. Lewis. I wouldn't want to encroach on your privacy. All you had to do was ask."

Loki vanished.

She flicked some water towards the spot he had just been standing in to make sure he was actually gone, and not just invisible. Satisfied, but hesitant, she pushed back the curtain, quickly wrapping herself in a towel just in case. She drained the tub and wrung her hair out before venturing from the bathroom.

Darcy stepped into her bedroom and was relieved to see no sign of Loki. In the mirror she noticed her hair was a mess. Rather, more so than it would usually be after a long, hot, relaxing bath. Of course, she hadn't actually had one of those. So she brushed out the knots before walking over to her dresser and pulling on some clothes. She chose a nice pair of leggings and her favorite sweater. This was definitely the time for her favorite sweater.

Looking into her bathroom yet again, she confirmed that she would need to mop up the water and tea from the floor. But that could wait. She hung up the towel to dry and grabbed the mug. Thanks to Loki's little interruption she hadn't even gotten to enjoy most of her drink. She pouted slightly as she inspected the mug for any cracks. Finding none she brightened up slightly. It was a nice mug.

Darcy decided that she deserved cookies for dealing with whatever the hell it was that just happened. Leaving her bedroom for the kitchenette she passed into her living room and froze. Loki was sitting on her sofa. She dropped the mug.

Thank God she didn't have hardwood floors.

* * *

Author Note: I have not written fanfiction in years and omigod is it fun! I've been on a crazy Avengers (more specifically Loki) kick lately, and I have found some absolutely beautiful TaserTricks (Darcy/Loki) works. _Funny That Way_ by LuvaGoodMrE is absolutely incredible, and I think the writing style kind of rubbed off on me here. I have no idea where this story is going, I just thought of the premise of Loki showing up while Darcy is bathing (don't ask where that came from because I have no fucking idea) and had to write it down. So here we are.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Loki turned around at the thud of Darcy's mug hitting the floor. It seemed he was waiting for her to speak first, so she did.

"Loki! What the hell?" She wasn't entirely sure what she was asking about. There was the fact that he had not, after all, left. There was the fact that he was in herliving room. There was the fact that he was sitting on her sofa. And there was the fact that he seemed perfectly comfortable in his new space. _Her _space.

He raised an eyebrow. "You are going to have to be more specific, Ms. Lewis. I'm afraid I can't be sure what it is you want me to explain."

She wondered what was up with the eyebrow thing. He seemed to do that a lot.

"What? And stop calling me 'Ms. Lewis,' it makes me sound old. My name is Darcy."

It took a moment for her to register the implication of what she had just said. The instant she did, she had a sudden urge to bang her head on a table. Hard. Just now she had asked Loki, the guy who had tried (however unsuccessfully) to take over the world, to call her Darcy. She was on a first name basis with crazy. Great.

His lips curled up ever so slightly into a smirk. "Well then Darcy, would you care to be more specific?"

She cursed herself under her breath. He could probably still hear her, but yelling at herself when there were other people around usually earned her an uneasy glance or two. And she needed to say _something_. Darcy was not the kind of person to let idiocy go by unmentioned. Even if it was _her_ idiocy.

"Okay, fine, I will try this again. _Why are you still here?_" Deciding it couldn't hurt to be even more specific, she continued, "In my living room? On my sofa?"

"You asked me to leave your washroom, and I did. You shouldn't be surprised to know I am still bored." He considered her briefly. "It seemed the furnishings of this particular room would provide the most comfort, and I do, in fact, find your sofa agreeable." He sounded perfectly pleasant, as if she had invited him into her home and he was playing the role of the respectful guest, complimenting her meager apartment.

Nope.

This was _not_ happening.

She was _not_ having a conversation with _Loki_.

Darcy thought for a moment. He did say he was bored. Maybe if she just ignored him he'd find something more interesting to do. Somewhere else. She reached down to pick up the mug, inspected it for damage, found none, and continued her journey to the kitchenette. She turned on the sink, running the water over the mug before wiping it dry and returning it to the appropriate (and precariously overstuffed) cabinet. Remembering the cookies she had promised herself, she removed the lid from her cookie jar and reached in. There were no cookies.

Fucking Loki.

Dr. Selvig had once explained to her how in the old Norse myths Loki was known as the God of Mischief and Lies. Until today she had considered the mischief part a massive understatement. Loki didn't do _mischievous_ things; he did megalomaniacal and very _homicidal_ things. Things that should very well have earned him the name God of Death and General Destruction Perpetrated for Entirely Selfish and Poorly Thought Out Reasons. It was a bit awkward, but infinitely more accurate. Now the mischief part wasn't any less of an understatement, but Darcy was starting to see that Loki did have a hint of the trickster. He _was_ being just a little bit mischievous today. Except for the part where he showed up in her bathroom while she was not wearing clothes. She wasn't really sure what he was being then. She decided not to think about it.

Confronting Loki about the cookies was unlikely to get her anywhere, so she stuck to her plan and pretended he wasn't there. Deciding this would be easier if she was just a little bit inebriated she opened the fridge, expecting to find the bottom shelf of the door stocked with beer bottles. Not only were they gone; the entire fridge was empty. Totally clean and spotless, but empty. She checked the freezer. Her ice cream and frozen treats had vanished, along with those microwave meals for when she was too lazy to cook. The ice cube trays were still full, but that wasn't exactly reassuring. So she scanned the cabinets where she stored the rest of her sustenance. No luck. Darcy sighed, turning to her last resort.

Jane had gotten her a bottle of fancy wine for her last birthday. Not anything super expensive, but the good stuff, the stuff you didn't just buy on a whim. She was saving it for some sort of special occasion, not that she had any idea what that would be. Darcy didn't really _have_ special occasions. Or company. Except for Loki, but he wasn't invited so he didn't count. She realized the bottle would probably be gone, but hoped against hope that it was still hiding in the back of the utensil drawer. She really needed a distraction.

Nothing.

She spent a moment cursing Loki out in her head for being such a goddamn selfish son of a bitch. (She did kind of care if he heard her cursing _him_ out). Darcy knew she couldn't get the anger completely out of her system until she managed to taser the bastard, or at least give him a roundhouse kick to the face. Of course she quickly remembered that even if he was serving his sentence on Asgard (though somehow simultaneously sitting on her sofa) he was not the sort of person you wanted to piss off. She convinced herself she was better off without the wine anyway. Even being just a _little_ bit tipsy in the presence of a guy known as the God of Mischief was probably not in her best interest.

She sat down and stared at her fridge. Now Darcy was bored. There were no cookies for eating, no alcohol for drinking, and all of her books (and iPod) were in the living room. With _Loki_. And she was still ignoring him.

For some reason she wasn't scared of Loki, just really ticked off. One day he gets bored and just up and decides to break the laws of physics, intrude in her private space, refuse to leave her alone, and steal all her food? In the back of her mind she added the parts where he had tried to kill Thor (and by extension her and Jane) and destroyed most of New York City, causing the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians in the process.

Yet in that instant the mass destruction paled in comparison to the fact that he was being such a little bitch. Why the hell did he decide to bug _her_ in the first place? They'd never actually been introduced, though he had surely known who she was since New Mexico. But she figured Loki hadn't really _met_ any people on Earth. The Avengers and a few select members of SHIELD, yes, but those interactions had mostly consisted of them trying to kill each other. Although knowing what she knew about Loki, she suspected he would actually enjoy someone trying to kill him. It _would_ break up the tedium.

Of course Darcy was almost entirely positive that Loki wasn't supposed to be on this planet (or anywhere that wasn't Asgard) in the first place. If any members of SHIELD or the Avengers found out he was here, they would tell Thor. Or maybe that Heimdall guy. Whatever Loki's punishment was now, it could probably get worse. And _someone_ would make sure he couldn't be in two places at once. Then what would he do when he got bored?

But _she_ could still tell on him. Darcy still worked for Jane, who sometimes sort of worked with SHIELD, not to mention the whole dating Thor thing. And she didn't doubt Loki knew she could go to anyone at any time. So why was he risking it?

Her stomach rumbled. Damn. Being mad always made her hungry, and Loki was doing an excellent job of making her mad. She wondered if he knew that, if he'd planned for this; stealing all her food just so she would get mad and need that food and be forced to speak to him.

Well if that's what he was doing, it was working. She was hungry, and this sudden lack of edible goodies was not pleasing. Ignoring Loki might make him go away, but this was kind of important. She wasn't paid so much that she could simply restock her fridge every time some homicidal creep made everything in there cease to exist.

So she took a deep breath and re-entered her living room.

Loki was gone.

* * *

Author Note: The only reason I'm updating within a day is because I already had this written out with the first chapter. But I wanted to space out the updates just a little bit, and figured I could proofread better if I took some time off from writing this. I may have spent over an hour tweaking this just now. There are just too many words that exist, and word choice is _hard_. I try to avoid repeating the same word over and over again (unless that's the effect I'm going for) and sometimes it takes multiple tries to get the phrasing so it flows nicely. Also, do _not_ expect my next chapter this soon. I've only got one paragraph down right now, and I actually do have other things occupying my time. But it should be less than a week. Oh, and thanks for all the favorites and follows and reviews! _(Current count because I'm stupidly proud of myself: 14 Follows, 8 Favorites, 5 Reviews)_


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

The worst part was that Darcy had no idea if Loki would come back so she could actually kick his ass. Or get her food back. Preferably both. Common sense told her she should just go ahead and restock her fridge, but something else told her to wait. Something aside from her wallet.

She could get by for a couple of days on pizza and pop-tarts before the need for variety and homemade dinners really got to her. There was something to be said for pop-tarts though. It probably helped that she still had a toaster. Unless Loki swiped that while she was with Jane. That would earn him an extra ass-kicking. On the house.

The door to Jane's lab opened silently, allowing Darcy to step in unnoticed. Her boss was awkwardly leaning over a table scribbling furiously in one of her notebooks. Part of Darcy felt like she should wait to greet the very much distracted woman, but after weighing the pros and cons, Darcy opted for another approach.

When Jane was this invested in her work, she tuned everything else out. Everything benign, anyway. The clang of metal hitting the floor or a well-timed scream usually elicited a very pleasing reaction. Or, you know, a sudden unexpected bear hug.

Darcy didn't have to try very hard to sneak up on Jane. She was really into whatever it was she was writing. Darcy almost felt guilty. Almost, but not enough to keep her from pouncing on her friend, wrapping her arms around Jane's hunched figure and refusing to let go.

Jane yelped, and would have fallen backwards, if not for Darcy's unrelenting grip.

"Hey boss-lady, thanks for the afternoon off yesterday!" Darcy thanked her cheerfully.

"Darcy!" Jane wrestled free and started looking around frantically for the pen she had dropped in Darcy's attack.

Darcy handed her one of the spares she'd learned to always keep in her back pocket. Jane gave her a look that Darcy had decided meant _thank you_ before turning back to her scribbling. Whatever it was Jane was onto, it must have been serious. Usually an interruption like that earned a couple minutes of Jane's undivided (if frustrated) attention.

She did know how important all of this was to Jane, this wormhole project. Thor had visited for a couple days back in the spring, but he was distracted. Darcy could tell he was glad to see Jane, and overwhelmingly relieved that she was safe, but his brother's lies and betrayal weren't something he could set aside, even for a couple of days with his lady love.

Then he had returned to Asgard with Loki, and no one knew when he'd be able to come back.

Darcy didn't quite understand _how_ Thor had been gotten to Earth that last time. What she did understand was that Thor had thought Loki was dead, and his sudden reappearance had shocked everyone in Asgard. It wasn't even that Earth may have been in imminent danger, or that Loki was causing trouble by gouging people's eyes out and stealing some sort of really powerful cube-thing; Thor had been sent back because Loki was _alive_. He had his own actions to answer for back on Asgard, having to do with New Mexico and whatever had been going on in his own world at the time, but Darcy could tell what Thor had come for was just Loki. Odin was probably more concerned with Loki's crimes, but Thor was concerned most of all with his brother.

No one ever gave Darcy enough credit for how observant she was, and she almost liked it better that way. Though there were those times when Jane had her helping with SHIELD business and the suits treated her like a useless hanger-on, busying her with mindless tasks. _That_ was always irritating. Maybe the work she helped Jane do wasn't something she grasped very well, but she wasn't an idiot. At least, not most of the time.

She knew some people (or _a lot_ of people) thought she was immature and didn't take her work or SHIELD seriously. Jane was one of the few people who got that all of her button-pushing had a purpose; it was Darcy's way of reading people. It was also just fun and helped break up the general monotony of whatever was going on around her, but it could be pretty useful.

And she knew something deeper was upsetting Thor because he didn't respond to any of it. So she had backed off, but she still watched him, heard the way in which he said "my brother" on those few occasions someone got him to mention Loki. Science was so impersonal. Her field of expertise _was_ personal, and knowing how people worked, why they did what they did, to some extent, was helpful.

So when Jane almost completely ignored her, allowing herself only a quick jump, Darcy let her be. Most of the time, Jane could use the quick distraction and the slight stress relief that came with a minute or two of scolding Darcy. But today, Jane couldn't afford the interruption.

Looking at the other woman now, she realized it should have been obvious. Something about Jane's posture was different. She leaned in closer to the pages than she should have needed to, and she hadn't moved an inch since she'd turned away from Darcy. Jane was onto something new, something important, something that just might change everything.

Something that might let her see Thor again.

* * *

It took Jane a little over an hour to settle down.

Darcy had already started working. Most of what she did was transcribe Jane's nearly incomprehensible notes, and there was already a full book waiting for her from the day before. Jane's handwriting alone let on that this was big; the lines were heavy and dark from pressing far too hard on the page, and smudged from dragging her hand across the ink before it had a chance to dry.

Darcy had no idea what any of it meant, of course, but she'd started to recognize bits and pieces showing up now and then. Little equations would be noted down in the margins, and later Jane would try to fit them in somewhere. Sometimes they disappeared, sometimes they divided, and sometimes they found their place in a larger string of numbers and characters with the satisfied flourish of Jane's pen.

Every time she saw that, those little ticks that indicated Jane had figured it out, that she had connected one more piece of the puzzle, Darcy couldn't help but feel a little happy herself.

So when Jane walked over, another notebook in hand, Darcy had to smile.

"You've really got something this time." Darcy couldn't keep the slight awe from her voice, "I don't know what it is," she gestured vaguely at the notes she had been transcribing, "but I've never seen you working like that."

Jane returned the smile. It was tired, but she was brimming with excitement. "I almost can't believe it," she paused, "an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, Darcy. A gateway to another world, other _worlds_, and I'm right there, I can see it." She took a deep breath, and a look of fondness and real hope settled on her face. "I can see Thor again." It was a whisper, like Jane was afraid if she said it too loud it her wish wouldn't come true.

Darcy moved around her desk and wrapped her arms around Jane's thin frame. Her friend returned the hug, resting her head on Darcy's shoulder and holding her just a little too tightly. But these were special circumstances, and Darcy could stand the discomfort. She squeezed back, and felt a tear hit the back of her neck.

"Jane?" Her tone was quiet, and she tried to sound comforting. "You know, it's not like I'm not into hugs, but it's getting just a little hard to breathe here."

Okay, so she couldn't help being a _little_ snarky. It paid off when she felt Jane smile before pulling back.

"Sorry." She said it with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Dude, don't be sorry." Darcy handed her a tissue. "You're building a _wormhole_ to a bunch of crazy alien dimensions. Pretty much by yourself. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but that's kind of amazing." She watched as Jane dried her eyes. "Also, you know, hot alien boyfriend waiting for you."

Jane rolled her eyes before glancing at the work on Darcy's desk. "So, how much have you got?"

"Oh, I was super productive while you were doing your thing. You should be impressed. _Half_ of one of these books already, and only one cup of coffee into the morning." She grinned, pleased with her own little accomplishment.

Jane did look pleasantly surprised. Usually Darcy was not quite so eager, but she had to give the girl credit for really working when she knew it mattered. It always mattered, of course, but some days were lazier than others, spent playing with equipment or watching screens and waiting for data to compile. This day was much more.

"But enough about me," Darcy turned to Jane's latest toys that she'd assembled just the day before, "let's talk about your work." She waved her arms in the direction of the shiny instruments. "Like what the hell is all of that and what does it do?"

"Darcy, you don't care what anything in here does except for the coffee machine."

"No, I do not." She almost looked proud. "But you do, and you have that look that means you really want another smart person in here for you to talk to, but there isn't, so I'm making you talk to me. Now, what does the stuff do?"

Jane obliged, as Darcy knew she would, and led her assistant over to the new equipment, gesticulating and babbling excitedly. Darcy understood about half the words coming out of her friend's mouth, and so she let her mind wander. She still tried to nod at the appropriate times, but she was hardly listening.

Unsurprisingly, her thoughts settled on Loki.

Part of her was tempted to just tell Jane. She wouldn't tell her _everything_, as Darcy fully intended to keep the first few minutes of her acquaintance with Loki a closely guarded secret, but just the parts where Loki was in her goddamn apartment. Which was still confusing on far too many levels.

Then again, what could she say? _'By the way, Jane, this is great and all, but I thought I should mention that Loki was in my apartment yesterday. Also he stole all of my food.'_ There was no way that wasn't going to sound crazy. And then SHIELD would get involved, which was good in theory, but she'd probably be locked up in some interrogation chamber for a couple days. Or weeks. Probably weeks.

The longer Darcy thought about it, the more she became convinced that the Loki secret should stay a secret. At least for the time being.

Jane's speech seemed to be winding down, so Darcy let the Loki issue rest and tuned back in to her friend's commentary. When Jane finished speaking she took a deep breath, told Darcy to get back to work, gave her the look that Darcy had decided meant _thank you_, and excused herself for a coffee break.

As Darcy approached her desk, she noticed two things that hadn't been there before. Beside the notebooks sat a perfectly delicious-looking chocolate-chip cookie and a glass of red wine.

* * *

Author Note: So, two weeks isn't bad for another update, right? I was kind of hoping to get this up more quickly, but then personal stuff got in the way. I'm sorry there's no Loki in this chapter (okay, so there's implied Loki, but you know what I mean) but worry not, for he will be back soon! And by soon I mean whenever I get the next chapter up. It's a little annoying because I keep formulating these scenes in my head that aren't going to happen for awhile, and they're making it hard to think about precisely what's happening next. Also there was Jane in this chapter! Yay! I'm still not sure if I'm characterizing everyone in a way that makes sense, but I'll probably figure it out. And thanks everyone who has reviewed and followed and faved! I might be just a little bit amazed that there are actual people who are reading (and enjoying) my stuff. _Current count because I'm having fun with this: 41 Follows, 16 Favorites, 15 Reviews._


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